A light rain was falling on the few cars in the lot, but the shuttle bus was there on time, ready for another brilliant day, rain or shine.
Officially, it was Day 2 of the Western Amateur, and on the van was a lady in a white shirt. The uniform color of the day for volunteers was white.
“There is an hour delay,” Patty Snyder said as the doors slid closed.
Usually it is next to impossible for yours truly to make small talk at 6:30 in the morning, but there is something about this golf tournament that has turned everyone into neighbors.
“Where you working today?” I asked politely.
“Working?” she asked. “I’m here to watch.”
At that early hour it didn’t click, but she quickly explained.
“My son is in the tournament,” she said.
I asked, again out of politeness, how he did the first day, and she said he shot a 71. There were a whole lot of golfers who would have liked to have been 1 under at the end of the first day.
“Yes, he played very well,” she said.
“He’s only 15,” she proudly added. “Probably the youngest player in the tournament.”
Western officials confirmed that her son, David Snyder, and Andy Zhang are both 15 and the youngest golfers competing this week at The Alotian Club.
David’s opening-round 71 left him tied with several others, including Steven Fox, the defending U.S. Amateur champion. Zhang was four strokes back at 75.
Being a parent, the next question was pretty obvious: Do you or your husband make every tournament?
“Yes,” she said quietly, “and it can be difficult when you have a high school senior and a college freshman at home.”
She wasn’t complaining.
“As long as he is committed, we are committed,” said Patty, who caddied for her son last week.
She home schools him to ensure he has ample time for his passion. A natural athlete, David has given up recreational sports in an effort to avoid injuries.
At almost every tournament, he attracts a crowd. Sometimes it includes college coaches, who are not allowed to talk to him because of his age but are well aware of his potential.
This week Patty is walking every hole, which by now everyone should know is a challenge because the course is extremely hilly.
It must run in the family to take challenges head on, because she wasn’t slowing down when spotted on the course. David, who recently qualified for the U.S. Amateur Open, was about to make the walk well worth it.
“My brother has offered to go to the Open with him,” Patty said with a laugh.
The decision was made to watch David as it sank in that one of the youngest players in the tournament was holding his own with guys who have much more experience and physical maturity.
On the par-3 No. 6, which has a huge drop-off into a ravine just before the green, Snyder drove the ball within five feet of the flag and dropped in the birdie putt. That put him 2 under after six holes.
It also earned him a big smile from Mom and a nod of congratulations from University of Georgia golfer Butler Melnyk, 21, and Kansas State golfer Jack Watson, 21.
The Snyders, who are from McAllen, Texas, have traveled from coast to coast playing some of the most noted courses in the world, but Patty admitted that Alotian is “an amazing place.”
“I had never been to Arkansas before, but I’m really impressed with what I’ve seen and experienced,” she said. “The sheer beauty of this course is overwhelming, and David loves the greens. He said they are difficult but accurate, and he loves a challenge.”
David picked up the pace over the last 12 holes and finished with a 6-under-par 66. He had eight birdies and only one bogey.
One of the youngest guys in the Western Amateur didn’t just survive, he advanced.
Sports, Pages 19 on 08/01/2013